(LONG) AT&T 6386 onboard floppy controller
~XT6510300~Frank McGee~C23~L25~6326~
fmcgee at cuuxb.ATT.COM
Thu Aug 10 01:43:40 AEST 1989
In article <186 at nisca.ircc.ohio-state.edu> bobd at hpuxa.ircc.ohio-state.edu (Bob DeBula) writes:
>Is there nay way to disable the onboard floppy controller on the AT&T
>6386 WGS motherboard (16Mhz)? I seem to be having flakey problems
>with it and the WD1007-WA2 ESDI controller (with floppy controller)
>in my 6386 (I've already played around with jumpers on the WD1007
>without much luck). The problem seems to come in when I have the
[ miscellaneous info deleted ]
>**FLAME ON***
>BTW why are
>the jumper settings for AT&T's 6386 kept a deep dark secret (same goes
>for WD hard disk controllers, etc....)? I would really appreciate
>(as would numerous others I'm sure) if hardware vendors INCLUDED some
>documentation for their products. Similarly, I would really *like* to
>know how to set the DIP switches on my 6386s 32-bit memory board just
>in case I would like to do something absurd like add some more memory
>to it. I don't think there is any excuse not to provide this information
>free of charge (or at least with a nominal fee) with the hardware (or at
>least put in a "if you want to know this send $2.50 to cover shipping"
>type of notice in with the machine/hardware. Are any vendors listening
>(AT&T -- hint,hint)? I really don't want to spend a couple hundred on
>the technical manual just so I can change a few jumpers to make my
>machine/hardware do reasonable things. (I also don't want circuit
>diagrams & resistance ratings and a bunch of other obscure facts which
>mean nothing to me since I'm not an electronics wizard & don't want to
>become one).
>***Flame OFF***
>If anyone knows the magic DIP settings for the memory board & would be
>willing to send them to me, I's appreciate it much. Thanks for listening,
>I've got to go take some asprin now...........
On the older 6386 and 6386E (and on most AT&T cpu's), there are two
items you can order; a service manual and a hardware reference manual.
In general, the service manual includes information on how to take the
machine apart, and replace each of it's components. It also includes
technical information on the jumpers on the motherboard. There are no
documented jumpers pertaining to the on-board floppy controller. The
hardware reference is a rather in-depth description of how the machine
functions at the bit level.
For the 6386, the items are :
6386 WGS Processor Service Manual 999-300-396
6386 WGS Processor Hardware Reference Manual 999-300-397
The nine digit number following the title is the select code, the
number you should give CIC when you order the document. The number for
CIC is 1-800-432-6600. They can also keyword search for a title, and
similar manuals exist for the 6386E, 6386/SX, and 6386/25. There will
also be manuals for the 6386/33 when it starts shipping. These manuals
do cost $$ (about $150 each). But in the case of the service manual
for the 6386 and 6386E, the service manual also includes another
diagnostics disk which contains a low level formatter.
In the case of the 6386/SX, 6386/25, and 6386/33 you are going to get
exactly what you asked for. How to open the case, jumpers, etc. are all
documented very well in the User's Guide, which comes with the cpu. So
unless you really are doing repair work, or are doing development in
80386 assembler you don't need the service manual or technical
reference.
In the specific trouble you are having with the WA2 controller, I'd
look elsewhere for the problem. I've had a WD 1006-WA2 running in a
6386 20 Mhz. desktop for over 3 months now, and haven't noticed any
flakiness. I'd suggest running your floppies off of the motherboard
controller though, not the WA2.
In the specific case of your need for memory dip switch settings, they
are documented in the service manual, and also in the memory upgrade
kit if you purchase your SIMMs from AT&T. Surprisingly, it also has a
select code (999-300-501), so it's probably orderable from CIC. I also
have a few things online that describe the settings, and I'll attach
them below. On the 6386/SX, 6386/25, and 6386/33 there are only a few
jumpers to set to indicate which banks are populated (one jumper on the
motherboard and 3 on each expansion card) so it's a lot easier to do on
the new machines. In addition, on the 6386/SX, 6386/25, and 6386/33
the jumper settings are described in the User's Guide, which is
provided free with the cpu.
Hope this helps,
Frank McGee, AT&T
Tier 3 Indirect Channel Sales Support
attmail!fmcgee
---------------< C U T H E R E >------------------------
Please note that I call the AT&T memory cards 4 MB and 16 MB cards,
based upon their total capacity. AT&T official nomenclature calls them
1 MB and 4 MB cards based upon the amount of memory in each bank.
Wherever you see "4 MB memory board" below it refers to the memory card
that can only be populated with 256K SIMMs.
Configuring 6386 Memory Boards
Recently, a quick reference chart crossed my desk that showed how to configure
the dip switches on 6386 4 MB memory boards in brief. To use it, your boards
need to be populated ENTIRELY with 256K SIMMs. We found the chart usefull, so
I'm posting it here. In addition, I'm posting the information found in the
6386 WGS Service Manual that describes the general case. In addition, there
should be a 6386E Service Manual coming, but as far as I know no definite date
has been set for it's availability.
Incidentally, if these switches are not set correctly, your machine will fail
to boot; it probably will not even be able to run the the initial hardware
diagnostics.
It is important to note that there are 4 different memory boards for the 6386
product line. The 6386 uses the 120 ns. memory boards, and the 6386E uses the
100 ns. memory boards. It is very important that you also distinguish between
a 4 MB board and a 16 MB board. You cannot populate a 4 MB board with 1 MB
SIMMs and get reliable performance. Although the boards look very similar,
there are differences, and you are taking a serious risk if you configure a 4
MB board with 16 MB of memory. The quick chart refers to 4 MB boards only.
QUICK CHART FOR 4 MB MEMORY BOARDS
To use this chart, your memory board(s) should be fully populated with 256K
SIMMs. In this chart, ON=0, OFF=1.
L07LL SWITCH :
(in this configuration, the L07LL switches are all always on)
| | TOTAL | | SWITCH SETTINGS
BOARD NUMBER | CAPACITY | MEMORY | X Y | 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
1 | 4 MB | 4 MB | 3 0 | ON ON ON ON ON ON ON ON
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
2 | 4 MB | 8 MB | 7 4 | ON ON ON ON ON ON ON ON
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
3 | 4 MB | 12 MB | 11 8 | ON ON ON ON ON ON ON ON
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
4 | 4 MB | 16 MB | 15 12 | ON ON ON ON ON ON ON ON
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
L06LL SWITCH :
| | TOTAL | | SWITCH SETTINGS
BOARD NUMBER | CAPACITY | MEMORY | X Y | 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
1 | 4 MB | 4 MB | 3 0 | ON ON OFF OFF ON ON ON ON
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
2 | 4 MB | 8 MB | 7 4 | ON OFF OFF OFF ON OFF ON ON
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
3 | 4 MB | 12 MB | 11 8 | OFF ON OFF OFF OFF ON ON ON
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
4 | 4 MB | 16 MB | 15 12 | OFF OFF OFF OFF OFF OFF ON ON
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Here is the information that is provided in the 6386 WGS Service Manual on
memory upgrades and configurations.
L07LL AND L06LL SWITCH FUNCTIONS :
L07LL :
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
parity disable ---| | | | | | | |
banks installed (2 bits) -----| | | | | | |
banks installed --------| | | | | |
board disable -----------| | | | |
page selection (4 bits) --------------| | | |
page selection -----------------| | |
page selection --------------------| |
page selection -----------------------|
L06LL :
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
lower address boundary (4 bits) --| | | | | | | |
lower address boundary -----| | | | | | |
lower address boundary --------| | | | | |
lower address boundary -----------| | | | |
upper address boundary (4 bits) --------------| | | |
upper address boundary -----------------| | |
upper address boundary --------------------| |
upper address boundary -----------------------|
MEMORY BOARD SWITCH SETTINGS (256K SIMMs) :
0=ON, 1=OFF
----------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| L07LL | L06LL |
----------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| Board | | | | | Address Boundary |
Board | Memory | | Banks | Board | Page | -----------------|
Number | Capacity | Parity | Installed | Enable | Select | Upper | Lower |
----------------------------------------------------------------------------|
|(switches)| 1 | 23 | 4 | 5678 | 1234 | 5678 |
----------------------------------------------------------------------------|
1 | 1 MB | 0 | 11 | 0 | 0000 | 0000 0000 |
| 2 MB | 0 | 10 | 0 | 0000 | 0001 0000 |
| 4 MB | 0 | 00 | 0 | 0000 | 0011 0000 |
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
2 | 1 MB | 0 | 11 | 0 | 0000 | 0100 0000 |
| 2 MB | 0 | 10 | 0 | 0000 | 0101 0000 |
| 4 MB | 0 | 00 | 0 | 0000 | 0111 0000 |
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
3 | 1 MB | 0 | 11 | 0 | 0000 | 1000 0000 |
| 2 MB | 0 | 10 | 0 | 0000 | 1001 0000 |
| 4 MB | 0 | 00 | 0 | 0000 | 1011 0000 |
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
MEMORY BOARD SWITCH SETTINGS (1 MB SIMMs) :
0=ON, 1=OFF
----------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| L07LL | L06LL |
----------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| Board | | | | | Address Boundary |
Board | Memory | | Banks | Board | Page | -----------------|
Number | Capacity | Parity | Installed | Enable | Select | Upper | Lower |
----------------------------------------------------------------------------|
|(switches)| 1 | 23 | 4 | 5678 | 1234 | 5678 |
----------------------------------------------------------------------------|
1 | 4 MB | 0 | 11 | 0 | 0000 | 0011 0000 |
| 8 MB | 0 | 10 | 0 | 0000 | 0111 0000 |
| 16 MB | 0 | 00 | 0 | 0000 | 1111 0000 |
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
2 | 4 MB | 0 | 11 | 0 | 0001 | 0011 0000 |
| 8 MB | 0 | 10 | 0 | 0001 | 0111 0000 |
| 16 MB | 0 | 00 | 0 | 0001 | 1111 0000 |
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
3 | 4 MB | 0 | 11 | 0 | 0010 | 0011 0000 |
| 8 MB | 0 | 10 | 0 | 0010 | 0111 0000 |
| 16 MB | 0 | 00 | 0 | 0010 | 1111 0000 |
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
--
Frank McGee, AT&T
Tier 3 Indirect Channel Sales Support
attmail!fmcgee
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